//Should be blocked and the whole devolved debacle disbanded.//
x2
The trouble is, youngmaf, that once the Genie is out of the bottle, it is extremely hard to force it back in. If anybody proposed that the ridiculous devolution nonsense was to be abandoned they would be accused of "curtailing democracy" - even though, until 20 years ago, the Scots enjoyed no such democracy.
Only one person managed something significant in this respect and that was Lady Thatcher when she abolished the Greater London Council in 1986. That only lasted 16 years and in 2000 the gullible London electorate voted in favour of an "elected mayor". What they didn't recognise (because it was not emphasised) was that they would also get the Greater London Assembly to go with it - the GLC by any other name. They thought they would get a Rudi Giuliani. Instead they got Ken Livingstone.
Never mind. The good people of North East England are next in line to be presented with an elected Mayor:
https://news.sky.com/story/north-east-of-england-could-get-directly-elected-mayor-under-new-1-4bn-devolution-deal-12775509
This has been praised as a "significant step" by local politicians. I'm sure it has. There will be plenty of troughs - in sizes to accommodate all snouts - and plenty of palms to be greased to "ease the paperwork."
Strangely, nobody seems to have considered asking the electorate whether they want to finance another load of bottom feeders. Perhaps that's because in 2004 they were asked and almost 80% of those who voted rejected the idea. You're only allowed to come up with the "wrong" answer once.